Purple martins are the largest swallows in North America. They are aerial insectivores that eat a variety of insects including mosquitoes, wasp, gnats and grasshoppers. These birds are able to consume up to 2000 insects each day. Native American Indians knew about this insect control and for thousands of years hung hollowed out gourds where the birds would nest. The birds became tame and learned to fly over the Indian villages, scaring away predators that would otherwise swoop down and steal the eggs or young.

When https://nestvui.com/yen-tinh-che-hop-50g/ heard about the practice they began hanging nesting cavities in their own communities. The birds accepted these man-made structures and a unique partnership between bird and humans was born. Today, over a million hobbyists nationwide maintain purple martin houses and keep alive an ancient tradition of cooperation between bird and man. This is one of the few cases where a wild bird species has fully adapted to living with humans.

Whether you are an experienced or novice birder, you can help this declining species by hosting a Purple Martin house. These colony-nesting birds are easily attracted to multi-compartment nesting structures like those we use for bluebirds, but they also accept individual hollowed out gourds and can even live in a group of such gourds strung together (more common in the west). The key to attracting purple martins is a properly sized cavity. The nesting compartments need to be 77 square inches or larger to ensure that predators cannot reach the birds inside. The interior of the gourd or nest box should be longer than it is wide, as martins like to nest at the back of the cavity.

A slanted roof and ventilation system are other important features to consider when building a purple martin nest. The birds prefer the slanted design because it protects them from owls that could attack the nesting cup. The slanting also helps the birds with ventilation by allowing wind to pass through the home, preventing stagnant air and wet nests. The housing should be painted white. While not necessary, some birders number their gourds and maintain a detailed record of their colony’s progress over the course of a year or more.

As the population of purple martins continues to decline, scientists aren’t entirely sure what is causing the sharp drop. However, the loss of natural habitat along their migration routes and competition with invasive starlings for nesting sites are likely contributing factors.

While it’s important to monitor the numbers of these beautiful birds, it is also important that you keep in mind how fragile their population has become. https://nestvui.com/yen-tho-loai-dac-biet-hop-100g/ hope you will join us for the last two weekends of the 2019 purple martin season to see the magnificent sight of these large swallows roosting in huge flocks at night before their journey south to Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina.